After observing RI, electing judges seems like a sound idea

In Oregon, where I was raised, and Washington, where I have lived for the better part of my adult life, we elect judges.

That always seemed like an odd system to me. Local judges, and especially state Supreme Court justices, should -- perhaps more than anyone else in government -- serve all the people. They should epitomize equality; they should be above politics. And they certainly should not pander to public opinion.

Yet, at their core, judicial elections seemed like popularity contests: The candidates can't actually tell voters how they will rule on any given matter if elected, so we are left with relatively arcane legal discussions and promises that candidates will be "a strong voice for the rights of the people" or will work to "preserve liberty" (two actual quotes from opposing judicial candidates this year).

Elections just seemed an almost arbitrary method to pick the most qualified candidate for these crucial, yet lower-profile positions.

That was until I moved to Rhode Island, where state court judges and Supreme Court justices were appointed by the two houses of the General Assembly, the equivalent of Washington's Legislature.

Just a couple of years before I arrived, the chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, Joseph A. Bevilacqua, had resigned under threat of impeachment for associating with organized crime boss Raymond Patriarca and other criminals.

Then in 1993, Chief Justice Thomas Fay -- the man who was appointed to replace the disgraced Bevilacqua -- was forced to resign and ultimately pleaded guilty to violating state ethics laws, converting state money to personal use and obstruction of justice.

Appointments didn't seem to work too well, either.

(The citizens of Rhode Island ultimately agreed. In 1994, citizens amended the state Constitution to allow the governor to choose Supreme Court nominees from a list of candidates approved by a nonpartisan nominating committee. Both houses of the General Assembly still must approve any nominee.)

Also in 1994, I returned to Washington state and our system of electing judges. Two corrupt and appointed chief justices in a row had changed my view of an elected judiciary branch.

My apologies: That's a long explanation of what I was thinking about as members of the Yakima Herald-Republic Editorial Board sat down last week to interview the two candidates for Position 3 on the Washington state Supreme Court.

The way our state system works, the race between incumbent Mary Fairhurst and challenger Michael Bond will be decided in the primary because whoever receives more than 50 percent of the vote in a Supreme Court race wins.

(There will be another Supreme Court race on the ballot you receive in the mail this week, but because there are three candidates, it will in all likelihood not be decided in the primary. Incumbent Charles Johnson faces challengers Jim Beecher and Frank Vulliet for Position 4, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the general election. If one of the three receives more than 50 percent of the votes in the primary, that man will be the winner. )

The other pair of candidates who met with the Editorial Board last week were Rob Lawrence-Berrey and David Elofson, who are vying for an open seat on the Yakima County Superior Court bench. That is the only other race that will be decided in the primary.

Later this week, the members of the Editorial Board will publish our endorsement in the Fairhurst-Bond Supreme Court race and the Lawrence-Berrey and Elofson Superior Court race.

We had the opportunity to spend an hour with each pair of candidates last week, asking them about their qualifications and why each believes he or she should be elected.

That kind of face-to-face question-and-answer session is an opportunity most voters just don't get, and our endorsements are the way we provide that information to you. We are not telling you who you should vote for. Rather, we're sharing what we've learned about the candidates and why we believe one candidate would better serve the community or the state than the other.

We also urge voters to gather all other forms of information available on these candidates and the positions they would fill. A couple of good sources are www.votingforjudges.org and the 2008 Primary Voters' Guide (www.vote.wa.gov).

News stories about all the contested races in the primary election begin today and will continue Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in the Herald-Republic.

Ballots will begin arriving in your mailboxes Wednesday, and most of all, we urge you to vote.

Electing judges and justices is a difficult process for most voters -- but my Rhode Island experience has convinced me that it's better than any of the alternatives.

* Sarah Jenkins is editor of the Yakima Herald-Republic. If you have a question or concern, you can reach her at 577-7703; P.O. Box 9668, Yakima WA 98909; or sjenkins@yakimaherald.com.

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